Browse Articles

"The holy passion of Friendship
is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature
that it will last through a whole lifetime,
if not asked to lend money."
Mark Twain in Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar
Mark Twain captured the inner fear of almost every non-profit board member. "I know...

In 1870, Russell H. Conwell hired an Arab guide to sail him down the Tigris River to Bagdad, Nineveh, and Babylon. His guide was a non-stop storyteller that drove Conwell crazy, so he just tuned him out. But then, one particular tale captured Conwell's attention... and changed his life.An ancient Pe...

Fundraising is exhausting, especially when you ask and ask and come up empty. As much as you keep smiling in the face of adversity, rejection is hard to take. It's discouraging to scan your database and find a drought of major donors. Raising money becomes even more staggering when you feel like you...

In my first week as a professional beggar, I hit a mental block. Theoretically, the first few gifts I raised for the ministry were really just covering my salary which felt like I was asking for my own personal benefit. You might experience the same hesitancy until you think through the logic of ste...

Rube Goldberg was a genius who devised incredibly complex solutions for simple tasks. His inventions were a series of chain reactions usually built with everyday parts like pulleys, ropes, gears, boots, bouncing balls, bows and arrows, springs, oscillating fans, and live animals. These contraptions ...

Does it make sense for your organization to hire a full-time grant writer and pursue an aggressive foundation strategy? In 2010, foundation grants accounted for $41 billion, which was 14 percent of the $290.89 billion charitable gift total. There are approximately 100,000 foundations in the United S...